Recommended Casinos

The user experience is very good, and you really feel like the casino is out to give you a great time, not just to rake in profit.

Up to £1,600 Bonus and 120 free spins! Significant Terms: 18+ Deposit Bonus, new customers only. Tiered bonus on first four deposits. Min. £10 deposit. 35x wagering before bonus or free spin winnings are withdrawable. £5 max bonus bet. Free spins on pre-selected games and subject to change. Free spins must be used within 3 days. See site for full T&Cs. www.begambleaware.org

We live for the freebies and extras, but no matter which bonus you accept, you’re going to have to contend with playthrough (or wagering) requirements before you can take home your profit. This isn’t a dodgy scheme put in place by back-alley casinos, but a standardised system implemented to protect the industry.

Basically, it means you have to bet the bonus amount (whatever the casino give you) more than once in order to withdraw it. It’s very simple, but can also be confusing and lead to a level of mistrust – read the full page as we explain why wagering requirements exist, how they work and the best way to beat them quickly.

Check out the table below for our recommended casinos with the lowest wagering requirements. As you’ll learn, low wagering requirements are music to the ears of any slots player!

Wagering Requirements: A Proper Explanation

Let’s say you’re given a £25 bonus for signing up to a certain casino. In theory, you get to place a few bets on new slots and, if your balance jumps from £25 to £100, you might withdraw that and call the day a success. Unfortunately, things aren’t quite so simple.

With every casino bonus, you’ll be told the wagering requirement. It’s often 40x, though it can be as low as 25x or as high as 50x. Multiply your wagering requirement by your bonus amount to calculate the amount of cash you need to bet before you can make a withdrawal.

In our £25 example, with a 40x playthrough, you need to wager £1,000. Once you’ve placed bets adding up to £1,000 (all tracked automatically by the casino) you can withdraw your cash whenever you like.

Is This a Scam?

Absolutely not. Think about it this way: casinos are (essentially) giving you free money, so if you didn’t have to bet the amount multiple times, you could take the free money and leave. This would cripple casinos. The alternative is that they don’t offer any cool bonuses, which would be a real shame.

The playthrough shifts the statistical odds back in the casino’s favour – some players will still win, but more will lose their balance before reaching the playthrough. It’s security for them, while still allowing you the chance to win with no financial risk.

Game Contribution

Most casino bonuses are in the form of either free spins1 or matched deposits. Whichever you choose, there will be a playthrough requirement. While you can use your matched deposits on any game (not just slots), only slots contribute 100% to the playthrough requirement.

This means that if you bet £1,000 on online slots, you’ll meet our example requirements. However, blackjack often contributes only 20%, 10% or even 0% since it’s a much lower-risk game. At a 10% contribution, you’d have to make £10,000 of bets to satisfy the playthrough requirement – since there are usually time limits in place, this is virtually impossible.

Always keep an eye on the game contribution, since more often than not table games will be almost worthless in trying to meet the playthrough.

Time Limits

After receiving your bonus, you will usually have a finite amount of time to overcome the wagering requirements – quite often it’s one week. If you don’t manage, then your bonus amount (and current profit) are wiped from your account.

Time limits have caused more than one unhappy customer over the years, but again it’s a perfectly reasonable move from the casino. On the upside, it also encourages more aggressive play that is exhilarating on slots.

Cashable vs Non-Cashable

All bonuses are either cashable or not – if the bonus is cashable, then once you’ve met the wagering requirement you can withdraw your bonus amount (aka the money the casino gave you to start with) in addition to your profit.

If not, you’ll get to keep your profit but the original funds will melt back into the casino. Something worth keeping an eye on, at least.

The Best Low-Playthrough Casinos

To make your life a little easier, we’ve created (and will continually update) a list of casinos with the lowest wagering requirements. They are all excellent, vetted casinos and offer you the best chance to not only make a profit off your free spins, but also to take it home with you afterwards!

Conclusion

Wagering requirements can sound a bit shifty and deceptive to a new player, but they’re really very simple. All reputable casinos will advertise their wagering requirements openly and clearly, without attempting to confuse you.

That said, it’s always best to avoid a 50x playthrough when you can choose a rival casino closer to 30x!